Prague - Czech Republic President Vaclav Klaus on Thursday urged people to vote in June's European Parliament elections as Prague assumed the European Union's rotating presidency until July 1.

Klaus, a fierce critic of the EU and deeper European integration, in his New Year address urged Czechs to the polls so they contribute to shaping the 27-member bloc into "a truly democratic space."

Prague  - Czech President Vaclav Klaus, one of the most prominent climate change doubters, is about to get a new platform: the European Union presidency.

Klaus has called man-made global warming a myth and questioned sanity of Al Gore, the former US vice president who received the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize for turning a spotlight on climate change.

Most recently, Klaus expressed hopes the EU would give up its ambitious plan to spearhead the global struggle against climate change in the face of the global financial crisis.

From his vantage point in Prague's Hradcany castle, Klaus could be involved in negotiating a new set of EU climate laws while the Czech Republic chairs the EU in the first half of 2009.

Dublin - Czech President Vaclav Klaus was due to meet Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen on an official state visit to Ireland Monday.

Klaus and Cowen would discuss the Czech Republic's upcoming presidency of the European Union, the global financial crisis and the Lisbon Treaty, a statement from Cowen's office in Dublin said.

The Czech Republic assumes the EU presidency on January 1. Prague has been a vocal opponent of the Lisbon Treaty aimed at streamlining the 27-member bloc's decision-making process, which Ireland rejected in a popular vote in June.

Klaus was due to meet Irish President Mary McAleese Monday morning and visit tourist sites in Dublin and the south-western city of Cork on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Prague- Czech President Vaclav Klaus Thursday pardoned a man who tried to sell a hip joint he claimed was the president's in an online auction.

The bones were offered for a minimum of 35,000 koruny (2,100 dollars) in late June, nearly a month after Klaus underwent hip replacement surgery.

The website quickly removed the offer by Premysl Donat, a 54-year- old trained lawyer, who also makes products for the blind.

Prague  - Czech President Vaclav Klaus on Monday vetoed a law placing the country's chemical industry under tougher European Union rules, calling it bureaucratic and bad for business.

"Neither we nor the whole EU needs such regulation," Klaus said in a statement. "There is no reason to further toughen legislation in this field. People are not endangered by chemicals."

The bill, passed by parliament last month, implements an EU directive that requires manufacturers and importers to register chemicals with the new Helsinki-based European Chemicals Agency.